We, who think like animals living in small groups, must structure a global world. We believe in universal human rights and believe racism and war are wrong. On the other hand, it is our nature to be cooperative and loving almost exclusively with the members of the group to which we feel we belong.

When it comes to social interaction, the chimpanzees appear to be just as intelligent as we are.

Unlike the primate hand, the elephant's grasping organ is also its nose. Elephants use their trunks not only to reach food but also to sniff and touch it. With their unparalleled sense of smell, the animals know exactly what they are going for. Vision is secondary.

Although elephants are far more distantly related to us than the great apes, they seem to have evolved similar social and cognitive capacities.

The enemy of science is not religion... . The true enemy is the substitution of thought, reflection, and curiosity with dogma.

Religions have a strong binding function and a cohesive element. They emphasize the primacy of the community as opposed to the individual, and they also help set one community apart from another that doesn't share their beliefs.

Religion may have become a codification of morality, and it may fortify it, but it's not the origin of it.